
Developmental Mindset
The Revival of Financial Activism in South Korea
Elizabeth Thurbon(Author)
Cornell University Press
Published on 9. June 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-5017-0310-2 (ISBN)
Description
The Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 was supposed to be the death knell for the developmental state. The International Monetary Fund supplied emergency funds for shattered economies but demanded that states liberalize financial markets and withdraw from direct involvement in the economy. Financial liberalization was meant to spell the end of strategic industry policy and the state-directed "policy lending" it involved. Yet, largely unremarked by analysts, South Korea has since seen a striking revival of financial activism. Policy lending by state-owned development banks has returned the state to the core of the financial system. Korean development banks now account for one quarter of all loans and take the lead in providing low-cost finance to local manufacturing firms in strategic industries.
Elizabeth Thurbon argues that an ideational analysis can help explain this renewed financial activism. She demonstrates the presence of a "developmental mindset" on the part of political leaders and policy elites in Korea. This mindset involves shared ways of thinking about the purpose of finance and its relationship to the productive economy. The developmental mindset has a long history in Korea but is subject to the vicissitudes of political and economic circumstances. Thurbon traces the structural, institutional, political, and ideational factors that have strengthened and at times weakened the developmental consensus, culminating in the revival of financial activism in Korea. In doing so, Thurbon offers a novel defense of the developmental state idea and a new framework for investigating the emergence and evolution of developmental states. She also canvasses the implications of the Korean experience for wider debates concerning the future of financial activism in an era of financialization, energy insecurity, and climate change.
Elizabeth Thurbon argues that an ideational analysis can help explain this renewed financial activism. She demonstrates the presence of a "developmental mindset" on the part of political leaders and policy elites in Korea. This mindset involves shared ways of thinking about the purpose of finance and its relationship to the productive economy. The developmental mindset has a long history in Korea but is subject to the vicissitudes of political and economic circumstances. Thurbon traces the structural, institutional, political, and ideational factors that have strengthened and at times weakened the developmental consensus, culminating in the revival of financial activism in Korea. In doing so, Thurbon offers a novel defense of the developmental state idea and a new framework for investigating the emergence and evolution of developmental states. She also canvasses the implications of the Korean experience for wider debates concerning the future of financial activism in an era of financialization, energy insecurity, and climate change.
Reviews / Votes
Thurbon's new book is a welcome revitalization of the important discussion on the developmental state and improves our understanding of a distinct and path-dependent model of state-led capitalism that is emerging in East Asia. Her focus on the developmental mindset of the political elite is an important contribution to this understanding while at the same time raising many new questions for future debates... [I] strongly recommend this book for all scholars and students of development as well as those curious about Asian capitalism and its spirit.- Thomas Kalinowski, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea (Pacific Affairs Book Reviews)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Ithaca
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
3 line figures, 6 tables, 13 charts - 6 Tables, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5017-0310-2 (9781501703102)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2016
Cornell University Press
€24.49
Available for download
Person
Elizabeth Thurbon is senior lecturer in international relations at the University of New South Wales, Australia. She publishes widely on the international political economy of techno-industrial development and change, with a focus on Northeast Asia and Australia.
Content
1. Rebirth of the Developmental State
2. Developmental States: Bringing Ideas Back In
3. Makings of a Developmental Mindset and Emergence of Strategy Mark I
4. Rise of Financial Activism
5. Fracturing Consensus and the Abandonment of Financial Activism
6. Return of the State
7. Emergence of Strategy Mark II
8. Return of Development Bankers
9. Full Flowering of Financial Activism
10. What Future for Financial Activism in Korea and Beyond?
2. Developmental States: Bringing Ideas Back In
3. Makings of a Developmental Mindset and Emergence of Strategy Mark I
4. Rise of Financial Activism
5. Fracturing Consensus and the Abandonment of Financial Activism
6. Return of the State
7. Emergence of Strategy Mark II
8. Return of Development Bankers
9. Full Flowering of Financial Activism
10. What Future for Financial Activism in Korea and Beyond?